Ivo, you're just reiterating the discongruent statements I was questioning you about. What a politician.

Malcolm. I would have never involved myself with that cult if Sakya Trizen, or anyone I contacted, had responded to my inquiries.Sakya Trizen knew, Lama Migmar knew, but they didn't want to get their hands dirty. So I think maybe I will follow their logic if I ever hear of someone planting a bomb at one of their teachings. I won't tell them or even respond to their questions if they ask me directly because I never endorsed the terrorist or had anything to do with their planting a bomb. Do you find fault with the course of action in this scenario?

You have a totally different code of ethics when it involves you and those you care about. Which doesn't seem to include sentient beings in general.

If there is a radical inconsistency between your statements and the position you claim to hold,you are a sock puppet.Make as many accounts as you want; people can identify your deception with this test.

I am not exactly sure if it is beneficial to answer such questions here, since these topics are vast and misinterpretations, incompletenesses and subjectivism are virtually guaranteed. Besides, Malcolm is very right, I really doubt that anyone gives a shit about what I am doing in Mexico, and I would really prefer that no one does. On top of that I dont really believe in internet discussions anymore. I found out long ago that on a forum you could be arguing for years with your potential best friend without even suspecting that if you meet this person face to face it would be completely different. This is a very limited form of exchange. But still, I will try, bear with me. I will be saying nothing new though.

First of all, although you have distanced yourself from many aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, you continue to emphasize the practice of guru devotion, and have assumed the role of a guru yourself (even to the extent of leading students from Bulgaria to Mexico). But isn't guru devotion one of the most problematic aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, responsible for numerous abuses? In your view, why is guru devotion necessary or beneficial? Are there any limits to the obedience owed one's guru? What are the qualifications of a genuine guru?

In my opinion things nowadays are completely messed up and guru devotion can bring as much harm as benefit. It is a method which belongs strictly to the very advanced stages of the path and can be applied only by practitioners who have grown totally disillusioned by samsara (and this includes the conventional Dharma paths). If, and this is a big "if", such an individual exists, and meets a qualified teacher with a good karmic connection, then there is a chance of real accomplishment through guru devotion. Then, and only then there will be no limits, but I would not call it obedience, it would be more like sharing.

As for myself, I have not assumed the role of a guru. It was a very complicated situation involving several of my teachers, people who practiced with me, etc. I just got tired of running from all this and listened to an advice I received from my root teacher.

As for the qualification of a genuine guru, if we are talking about Vajrayana, these are very well explained in the tantras. From what I understand, maybe the key point is validated personal experience on the level that this so called "guru" is teaching.

Although you disclaim tulku status, if I am not mistaken, you do present yourself as a terton ("treasure-text discoverer"). In this postmodern era (and given your problematic relationship to Tibetan tradition), how can such claims be interpreted as anything other than a personal fantasy? What is the difference?

To be honest, I do not know what a "terton" is. I had to share with some people some events which have been happening to me for a long time. If this is what a "terton" is, then I can assure you that it is nothing special and I am positive that it can happen to anyone who practices seriously. I certainly do not feel any different than I have ever felt before. I made a choice to share some methods I have been receiving, and this was a rational decision. How is this different from a personal fantasy? The whole world is a personal fantasy. I do not think it is different.

Like traditional Tibetan Buddhism, you believe in reincarnation (and have memories of your own past lives), as well as liberation from samsara, and a cosmology / psychology consistent with Buddhist dzogchen, and even report receiving messages from dharmapalas. So, what aspects of traditional Tibetan Buddhism led you to regard it as incompatible with your new path? For the benefit of Dharma Wheel readers, I append a couple of explanatory quotes from the Sky Dharma website...

Reincarnation is not a belief with me or my close dharma friends. It is a conventional fact which can be very easily verified. As for the cosmology stuff, I am not sure what you are referring to. Tibetan Buddhism is a wonderful path which still has power, and it is a path I have a very close connection to. It is just that there are methods which use different principles and are self contained. They are not to be mixed with any other system if we want to use their full power. They are not given in the context of another system so I am trying to be faithful to that.

Your website states that " a student can drop out at any stage by his/her own wish, but would lose the privilege to attend any further teachings and activities." Why is that?

Oh, this is just my stupid personality thing. A few years ago I even had an argument with Dzongsar Khyentse about this very point. I do not believe in practicing with people who are not fully committed. I do not believe in any kind of Dharma where there is no serious personal interaction between teacher and student. I have been in a position to teach the Dharma, at the request of my own teachers for more than a decade, I have made my choices on the basis of past experiences. This is just my condition if I am to continue with this thing.

Your website also suggests that your teachings are inappropriate for those who "feel that working for a career makes sense" [...] "trust the news media" [...] or "believe Stephen Hawking." I can't tell whether this is a restatement of the traditional Buddhist teaching of samsara, or something a bit more paranoid--along the lines that we are all living in the Matrix, or some such. What's wrong with mainstream careers / mainstream science?

Probably the correct reading is as a restatement. The Steven Hawking thing was a joke we put on the day he announced that all extraterrestrial life is sure to be hostile to planet Earth

Ivo wrote:P.S. Sorry to distract you all from the "nature of a cult" discussion, when I see my name on the topic title vanity takes over and I just can not control myself

Hi Ivo,

Thank you for answering yourself, tend to make discussions a little more real. I am mainly curious about these two cycles of teachings you discovered (now when the matter of your bowel movements are clarified). Is there something you can tell us about the manner they were received and why you consider them valid? I remember that in Tulku Thondrups book on the terma tradition he mentions that some practitioners have visions of practices but when practiced they bring neither benefit nor harm. How did you gain confidence that these teachings would actually benefit others? Also in what language where they received and what were the circumstances that you discovered them?

I must confess that I still quite surprised when I read your site. I haven't heard from you for years but I can't say I expected this.

/magnus

Hi Magnus, very nice to see you here!

I really, really don't know whether to be totally honest and answer your questions in details or refrain. The reason is that I have the attitude "to hell with it all" but it is safer to use it outside of the traditional Tib. Buddhist context and this is not what this forum is about. I don't want to stimulate confused thinking and agressive responses, which will not help anyone. It seems that what I have been doing has already done some slight harm in this regard. So... I will answer very shortly. The validity of these methods I have no doubt about due to the manner that they have been given, the attitude and instructions of my root teachers and the effect I can observe. They are not received in a language per se (apart from the mantras), the information is synthesized in a language I feel comfortable with, sometimes Bulgarian, sometimes English. The circumstances span many years, and they vary tremendously. At first it was only during intensive retreats, now it can happen at anytime. BTW I am positive that this is happening to other practitioners too, for many reasons. It is just a matter of time for someone to gather enough momentum, to possibly come out of retreat and to be proclaimed as the new cult leader.

As for your surprise, I can assure you that I am more surprised than anyone at the direction my life has taken. And now... writing again on an Internet Dharma forum, well that almost tops it all

P.S. I don't know if having my name in the title of the thread entitles me to anything on Dharma Wheel, and I do not know who the moderators are, but I would tentatively suggest that the thread be closed for now. If you hear that any harm comes from what I am doing, by all means, open it again and fry me. Anyone can contact me privately if the need arrises, here with a PM, on Facebook, via e-mail, etc. But then of course, if you still want to fry me now without any valid reason, do so, no problem. It is just that if the discussion stays on topic and if I continue to answer questions... it will just confuse things. If there is a point in that I am not sure I see it.

disjointed wrote:Malcolm. I would have never involved myself with that cult if Sakya Trizen, or anyone I contacted, had responded to my inquiries.Sakya Trizen knew, Lama Migmar knew, but they didn't want to get their hands dirty.

Obviously you never asked me. I have always been forthright in my opinion about that situation in Miami.

M

Last edited by Malcolm on Sat Oct 12, 2013 11:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thank you very much for responding, Ivo. I hope the experience has not been too traumatic! If you manage to avoid goofing around on the internet, then you are certaintly more disciplined than I am.

Religious groups vary considerably in intensity, and whether any of them are good or bad is very much a matter of opinion. The practices of certain Catholic religious might set off some of the same anti-cult alarm bells (and has--see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Monk ). Of course there are genuine abuses, such as Jonestown, but in general it is considered bad form to accuse someone of rape, bloody murder, etc. without a shred of evidence. So I wash my hands (if one more biblical allusion can be forgiven) of disjointed's attempts to paint you guilty by association.

So much of religion being a matter of opinion, it is a little startling when someone claims to have resolved the unresolvable--even for themselves--and attained a certainty that eludes the rest of us. It is easy to react with outrage or ridicule. Since new religious groups rarely just appear out of nowhere, but typically have a history with other religious groups, this brings more issues into the mix. So far we have not learned exactly what it was about your new revelation that demanded such a break from the Tibetan Buddhist mainstream, but I can appreciate that you are reluctant to discuss this, and will not interrogate you on it anymore.

As the OP, I have no objection to locking the thread, as Ivo requests. (The title was my doing, btw.) If anything noteworthy happens, we can always re-open it. On that note...

Lama Ivo wrote:

I really doubt that anyone gives a shit about what I am doing in Mexico, and I would really prefer that no one does.

I'm afraid that you are wrong on first count, and doomed to disappointment on the second! But I do wish you well, and hope that you are blessed with fair critics.

Ivo wrote: I would tentatively suggest that the thread be closed for now. If you hear that any harm comes from what I am doing, by all means, open it again and fry me. Anyone can contact me privately if the need arrises, here with a PM, on Facebook, via e-mail, etc. But then of course, if you still want to fry me now without any valid reason, do so, no problem. .